Balinese Moslems, Hindus live in harmony

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR (JP): When thousands of Balinese took to the streets recently, demonstrating their anger at a cabinet minister's religious slur, many people questioned if the predominantly Hindu island had turned sectarian and would seek independence.

Hindus constitute over 95 percent of the famed holiday island's population of 2.8 million people, according to the 1997 official statistics.

Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin, who covets the next presidency, angered Balinese recently when he openly questioned if the predominantly Moslem Indonesians would want to see Megawati Soekarnoputri become their president because "she is a Hindu".

However, just like Saefuddin, Megawati is a Moslem. Clarifying his controversial statement, Saefuddin said he assumed Megawati was Hindu because she was seen worshiping together with Hindus in a Hindu temple.

Wayan Sudirta, chairman of the Foundation for Indonesian Hindu Studies, soothes worries that Bali is turning sectarian and that demands for secession are serious.

"The harsh response came because they feel that their refined culture has often been abused in the name of development," he says.

It was the leaders of the Bali provincial chapter of the Indonesian Youth Committee who threatened to proclaim Bali an independent state. The threat sparked a cloud of controversy among the Balinese.

Sudirta believes that the strong reaction does not indicate that the seed of sectarianism is budding among the Balinese.

"The target of the Balinese anger is not Islam, but Saefuddin as an individual," he says.

A similar opinion came from Ketut Wiana, an executive of the Indonesian Hindu Council.

"Historically, Balinese Hindus have had harmonious relations with Moslems since the ancient kingdoms," he says.

In modern times, Bali once had a Moslem governor, while a village chief in Nusa Dua was a Roman Catholic.

"When Saefuddin made the religious slur, we Balinese were furious because we felt that we were disrespected as part of the nation," he argues.

Islamic hamlets

Bali has several hamlets that are Moslem enclaves dating back to the ancient kingdoms. These include Kepaon in the regency of Badung, Loloan and Banyubiru in Jembrana, Gelgel in Klungkung, Saren Jawa in Karangasem and Pegayaman in Buleleng.

They all have tales suggesting that, historically, Bali's rulers have always had good relations with Moslems.

Anthropologist Jean Couteau says that the rulers of Bali considered Moslems an integral part of their territory.

"Balinese kings saw them (Moslems) as part of their cosmic kingdoms and treated them like Hindus," he says.

The fact that Balinese Moslems have traditions like slaman offerings, porkless offerings presented in a Hindu temple, suggests that the Moslems used to be treated as part of the Hindu kingdom's cosmic system, according to Couteau.

In Pagayaman, Buleleng, there are several thousand Moslems. They retain Balinese names such as Wayan, Ketut, Made or Nyoman. A local writer, Ketut Syahruwardi Abbas, has on various occasions been mistaken for a Hindu.

Stories relate that Moslems in Pegayaman received their property from King Panji Sakti.

The Moslem hamlet of Banyubiru boasts a strong Balinese culture. Not only do people have Balinese names, but they also maintain a Hindu temple, Pura Majapahit, where pork is forbidden.

Pork is widely used in Balinese offerings. Katut Masri, a Banyubiru Moslem, recalls that in the 1960s it was common for Moslems to take part in Hindu rituals in the temple.

Now, he says, few Moslems do it, but many still believe that they have some kind of religious relationship with the gods believed to exist in the temple.

"(Moslem) people will make offerings for Gods in Temple Majapahit when they have their sons circumcised. We do not physically go there to the temple but pray from home," Masri says.

Although in mainstream Islam it is considered musrik (taboo) to mix Islamic rituals with those of other beliefs, people here do not have the courage to end the custom, Masri says.

"Once a family tried to quit the practice but it did not work. Their circumcised son bled, and it wouldn't stop until purified water from Temple Majapahit was sprinkled on him," he added.

In the isolated Saren Java hamlet, hundreds of Moslem families live in peace with Hindus.

"Our harmonious coexistence is genuine," said Ketut Achmad, a Moslem leader in Saren Jawa. "So close is their relations that Moslems will call their Hindu neighbors 'brother' and Hindus call Moslems adik (little brother or sister)."

Wayan Sudirta says that the current tensions between Balinese Hindus and Saefuddin should not be given religious connotations.

"Mutual respect has overcome shortsightedness and sectarianism in the Balinese society," he says.

When the controversy over the minister's remarks raged, Balinese Moslems also criticized him.

"If Indonesia still believes in (the state ideology) Pancasila, religion and sex should not be used to block one's right to ascend to the presidency," Sudirta notes.